Audix OM7 Hypercardioid Dynamic Vocal Microphone Reviews

Ive been wanting to get this mic for a while now and Its better than expected. In the past I have used 50s style Shure mics because I liked the vibe, but those mics like to feedback if not placed exactly in a sweet spot which can be hard to find on a small stage or rehearsal room. I Play guitar and sing and I tend to get right on the mic, so the tight pattern this mic has works great for me. Also you don't have to be right on the mic, you just need to be in front of the the proper spot and then you can back off a bit , just don't drift right/ left or up/down.
There's no need for an on/off switch because this mic just doesn't feed back, even when I walk away for beak and have the PA still blasting music.
Of course if you point it at a speaker or something it might feed back, just don't be an idiot and you're good to go.

Read the reviews, watched the videos and ordered an Audix OM7. Upon arrival I tested the mike alongside my old SM58 and a new Beta 58A for comparison. To my surprise, all of the claims in the reviews are correct. My testing was under horrible conditions (literally on top of a pair of Headrush FRFR-108s), it was difficult to get the Audix to a feedback state compared to the 58s (thus feedback = OM7 SM58). The off-axis rejection from the Audix was striking compared to both the 58s. Output of the Audix OM7 will require more gain at the mixer.
Mikes tend to be a personal choice for each singer. For myself, the natural tone of the Audix OM7 is perfect, this mike will require some discipline with respect to positioning (move slightly to the side and you will rapidly fade out !) but given the tone and feedback rejection it will be my mike of choice. Probably not as robust as the 58s so take a little extra care. Sorry Beta 58A you are now the back-up mike.............

I've had this mic for 2 years. I've played an honest 150 gigs with it. This mic is the cleanest, most feedback resistant mic that I have ever used!
I play through an L1, so it's set up right behind me... ZERO feedback EVER.
This has seen war playing at beach bars, weddings, and outdoor dining... sometimes in the same day. I have dropped it, stuffed it into my gig bag, banged it silly.... it's a freakin' champ!
The price is way too low for the perfect microphone.

I was looking for a vocal mic that rejected as much stage sound as possible, as I multi track my bands performances. The off axis rejection is fantastic and the dB drop beyond 6 inches is huge. You have to stay right up on the mic, but it really does what it claims to do!

The clarity of this microphone makes it hard to believe that it isn't a condenser microphone. If you have speech-level vocal training than you'll have no problem with this microphone. Pop resistance is fantastic and if you eat the microphone, than this is your microphone. It is designed to be within in inch from your mouth. I wouldn't share it, though. Little to no eq is needed at the board and if you have a bedroom studio and/or can't treat for acoustic, this is definitely the microphone to record with. I have been continuously blown away by audix time and again.

This mic is Awesome! It's great for lead and backup vocals. You just sing "naturally" into the mic and it picks up the natural tone of your voice. No more shouting into the mic! This also means less strain on your vocal cords. So, don't forget to pack your diaphragm muscle and your your voice box too!

agree with review. perfect for male vocals.

Used to use shure sm and beta 58a. Was having feedback issues. Not only did this mic solve the issue, the natural quality of sound was a pleasant surprise. No mud or boominess when you get on top of it. I love it. Now have to convince the other guys in the band to get one.

Wholeheartedly agree with the previous reviews. One more thing - and this is something that I came across in user forums during the course of pre-purchase research: If you use any type of vocal processing in your signal chain, the OM7 is the mic to have. It takes EQ extremely well, maintaining a clear and open sound. Compression can be applied without having to worry about feedback from the PA.

I send this through a TC-Helicon VoiceLive 2 vocal effects pedal. I am able to stay right on top of the mic capsule and the sound is nice n'clean with little or no proximity effect - and no distortion. The OM7's off-axis rejection prevents extraneous PA signal from creeping in and "confusing" the VL2 pedal. So, the pedal's DSP-generated harmonies are as crystal clear as the live vocal.

Lastly, the OM7 is built like a tank. This is truly a professional-grade microphone.

I perform in a pop/rock band. We acquired our own OM7s so that when we arrive to any given venue we do not have to use the standard house microphones. After several recent shows at various venues, none of the sound engineers had any problems extracting enough "gain."

Needless to say, I think this microphone sounds excellent. Great Buy!

I have been singing live for over 20 year professionally. I have never been so happy with a vocal mic for live shows. This mic shines best with a singer that has a strong voice. It is very clear, full and, will punch though a mix. The gain before feedback is unmatched by any other Mic out there. You can literally crank the wedges with no feedback. I have consistently gotten plus 10db over a shure 58 without feedback. Many people have complained about the lack of output and that you may need a Mic preamp before your mixer. I have only seen slightly less output than other mics and have had no problems making up for the input at the several boards I have used this mic through. Personally, I do not see the low output of the Mic to be a concern at all as it is not that low. It will also dramatically clean up your mixes, as the hypercardiod capsule will reject high stage volume like crazy. If you have a drummer that sings, this Mic is also a must. As long as you eat the Mic, this is the best live Mic you can buy for many reasons.

I agree 100% with Jeff's assessment of the OM7. I sing lead in a 5-pc Irish/Celtic band and had tried all the OMs except the OM7 since it's the only one our local Audix dealer doesn't stock. Of the ones I tried, I liked the OM5 and OM6, but the 5 was too bright and mid-rangy overall, and the 6 was nice and smooth but too flat and lifeless. So I passed on any of the OMs....but hadn't tried the 7 This mic is possibly the best mic I've used, including my Senn e935, e945, and Heil PR22. Naturally, I'm basing this on my voice (high baritone/low-mid tenor and ranges from soft to powerful), as well as the type of music we do.

As Jeff said, it's very lively and sweet sounding. To me, the OM7 exudes power and life, yet handles the softer stuff with excellence and great clarity. For me, the OM7 bridges the gap between the OM5's brightness and the OM6's smooth but rather flat character, producing a nice clear high end without being too bright, excellent mid presence, and smooth, balanced low end without being boomy. The OM7 is strong and clear in the monitors and I can easily hear myself over the mix without being too dominant. My style is to sing with my mouth touching the mic or about 1" away, so this mic is a good fit and I feel very comfortable using it.

After reading so many reviews about needing a strong sound system for the OM7's low output, I was skeptical about it working with our Gigrac 1000 mixer, and yes, I had to crank the channel vol a bit, but there's plenty of gain. As expected, no feedback/bleed issues at all.

The OM7 has what I'd consider average plosive/sibilance issues. The Gigrac doesn't have a high pass, but I roll off the channel bass to about 9:00 and helps a lot. Technique can diminish these issues somewhat, but I sometimes use a foam windscreen....which I hate to do but is sometimes necessary. Windscreens always affect sound a bit and different windscreens will affect sound in different ways. I have several and found one that best maintains the OM7's great sound while preventing plosives and sibilance.

Overall, the OM7 is probably the best dynamic mic I've used. As my rating indicates, I was in fact blown away by this mic and highly recommend at least trying it.

This mic is usually described as being necessary for loud rock stages because of its superior off-axis rejection. People are funny about vocal mics. Why wouldn't you want the most off-axis rejection you can get for any vocal performance? In fact, I think the OM7's rejection of off-axis sound is more important in a quiet (piano or acoustic guitar accompanyment) setting than it is in a loud one.

We all hate mics that have the slightest induced hiss or noise. Off-axis sound is worse! It's usually muddy, low frequency noise that, if you were to hear it by itself, would make that cheap-mic hiss sound great in comparison. The OM7 pretty much eliminates that muddy junk. Your vocals will sound better, even in situations much much quieter than a raging rock band.

These days, few of us use our vocal signals raw. That is, downstream of the mic, we compress that signal or delay it or reverberate it or EQ it or even pitch correct it -- usually combinations of those. For those enhancements to work properly, a clean vocal signal is essential. Even the bleed from an acoustic guitar in your lap is enough to confuse a compressor. Its enough to make vocal pitch correction all but unusable. Try the OM7 with your TC Helicon VoiceTone Correct and you'll hear what I'm talking about. Wonderful. You can back off on EQ and compression and especially pitch correction to where they sound completely natural. This is because the device isn't having to hunt through (or average in) a haystack of off-axis sound to find your voice.

And this is not just a deadened mic. It's VERY lively and sweet sounding. It picks up the faintest harmonics of your voice, but only your voice. I've read that you have to concentrate on your mic technique with the OM7. I haven't found that. Stay within 20 degrees of axis and within 10 inches and this mic will pick you up fine. Basically, any non-drunken, non-dancing-idiot singer will find their mic technique perfectly adequate. This is the best live-vocal microphone made today. It will make the rest of your gear operate the way it was intended. EASILY worth what they want for it.

Like most of us, I've been singing through an SM58 since I was able to afford a decent mic, They're great mics that sound really good and can take a beating. I've got a couple in my mic locker from the 80's that still sound fine. But let's face it, that's technology that's been around for more than a few years.

After I switched over to and IEM system, I've become very aware of what my mic is picking up besides my vocal. And in the arena rock band I'm playing bass in now, I've got a drummer right behind me that had two settings...loud and Hiroshima. With the 58, he's as loud in my in ears and I am. Now, when we're on our own production I can count on my FOH engineer to adjust the gating. But, when we're on a house system, I can't count on that. So I decided to fix the problem at the source.

I got turned on to the Audix OM7 by two different house sound engineers in the Austin, Tx area that I have tremendous respect for. I'm usually a stickler for bringing my own vocal mic when I'm on a house system, but one of these guys saw my situation and suggested trying the OM7. Since I knew this guy to be one of those rare house sound guys that actually cleans the mic screens, I agreed.

Aw geez...what have I been missing...

I won't go into the geek details on why this mic does what it does. Let's just say that when you're on top of this thing, it's extremely responsive to what it hears. But if you back away a few inches...it's going to ignore you. All of a sudden...my "not so delicate" drummer was not the dominate thing in my IEMs.

And here's another bonus that you're not going to find in the spec sheet...this mic made me sing more correctly. What I mean is that I really had to sing from the diaphragm to push through. Wow...who would have thought a mic would do that for you. Keep in mind I've never been formally trained as a vocalist. This is one of those things I knew I should be doing, but wasn't. And, son of a gun, I'm singing more on pitch now that I've got proper breath support. Cool beans.

Now, fair disclosure. If you're a mellow singer in an acoustic duo, you don't need this mic. There are other fine mics that would be better suited for you. But if you're in a loud rock band, or if you're a singing guitarist with an amp right behind you, then this mic is just what the doctor ordered.

By the way...the top end on this is one of the clearest for a dynamic mic that I've ever heard. And yeah, I know...it's 2x the cost of a 58.. But for me, well worth it.

This mic does exactly what it says. For off axis rejection I don't know if you can do any better. And the tone from the mic is exceptional. If you are using SM-58's you need to throw them in the garbage and buy some of these. I was previously using sennheiser 835's and will never use them on a lead singer or singing drummer ever again. Also, used it in the studio on a screaming metal singer...results were fantastic, the low output makes it work almost similar to a shure sm7. Make sure you have some gain because it is very low output.

I recently purchased an Audix OM7, primarily because of high praise on Takbass. For the most part I've been very pleased. I find it to be a very clear and articulate mic. It does require good mic technique, you need to be right on it. My only complaint is that because of the low output, once you get the volume adjusted for your channel if the overall PA volume needs to be adjusted, especially turned down, you need to readjust the gain on your channel. I play smaller clubs with a modest PA system.

I never had any problem with gain as posted in reviews on other sites. Some people prefer one brand as opposed to others. If your trying to cut down on noise this is the one you want. If your vocalist handles the mic you'll be good. If you have a singing guitarist you will probably need to instruct them to stay up on the mic. It is tight and makes a big difference. Once they get familiar with it and hear the results they won't want anything else. Responds well to eq or digital effects and found myself using less eq than with an OM2.

Recently used the Audix OM7 to do scratch vocal tracks, it was very good almost used instead of the
studio's expensive condenser mics. Sounds great live, built like a tank. nice to have a couple of these for
louder stage volume, live shows. Also have OM2's, OM5's, Beta 58,57, sE V7, V3 etc

This mic is great for practicing in a small room where sound can bounce around a lot and cause all sorts of feedback issues. The hypercardioid effect works as advertised, which is great for me because I practically eat the mic when I sing anyway. 8^)

I was impressed by the clarity of the OM7 from the start: Our bass player bought one as an upgrade after reading the reviews. I was disappointed by the amount of feedback it allowed (we play in front of Bose towers--at least we try to. Not so much with this mic). And, in less than 6 months of fairly light use it has basically quit working (some kind of loose connection within, resulting in crackling and signal loss.) For male vocals, the sound quality is excellent, but no way is it worth the money. Maybe we got a lemon.